The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a battery pack for an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In order to increase portability, information handling systems may rely on batteries to provide their power. Battery packs are used to house batteries and provide easy connection of the batteries to the information handling system. It is desirable for the information handling system to operate on the battery power for as long as possible, which may require larger battery packs that hold more batteries. This is in conflict with the desire to reduce the size of the information handling system as much as possible to further increase portability.
One solution to this problem is to provide multiple battery packs for the information handling system. This allows a user to choose between a standard battery pack which provides power to the information handling system over a given period of time, and an extended life battery pack which provides power to the information handling system over a longer period of time than the standard battery pack but takes up more space than the standard battery pack.
Extended life battery packs may use different battery cell technologies than the standard battery packs, the result being that an extended battery pack battery will have a different chemistry, different shape, different capacity, and generally different properties than the standard battery pack battery. The extended life battery packs may be larger in size than the standard battery packs, and may not fit in the battery port in the information handling system chassis which is designed for the standard battery pack. However, it is desirable for the extended battery pack to use the same battery connection on the information handling system that the standard battery pack uses. Typically a connector is extended from the extended life battery and through the battery port to the battery connection on the information handling system. The result is that the portion of the extended life battery pack containing the battery may be situated external to the information handling system chassis when it is connected to the battery connection.
Situating the extended life battery pack partially external to the information handling system, then extending the battery connector through the battery port to the battery connection on the information handling system in order to connect the extended life battery, results in wasted volume in the unused portion of the battery port.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a battery pack for an information handling system absent the disadvantages found in the prior systems and methods discussed above.